Literature Review Of Humour Literature Review Of Humor...

Literature review of humour This section aims at providing the theoretical background of humour including how it is conceptualised, the mechanism of how humour works. In this section, I also discuss other important aspects of humour such as its functions in general and in educational settings, as well as various categories and types of humour used in the classrooms. The section ends with a brief review of the relationship between identity construction and various forms of humour. 5.1. Defining humour Given its omnipresence in social lives, the body of studying humour did not draw researchers’ attention until fairly recent. Tracing back to its Latin origin, ‘humour’ was closely associated with one of the four crucial fluids of a healthy†¦show more content†¦Nevertheless, it is rather ambiguous since it is unclear what is perceived as ‘funny’ and ‘amusing’ as there is no indicator of such phenomena (such as laughter, giggle, etc.). In the area of language learning, the concept of humour gets even more complex since it involves other languages rather than one’s mother tongue. This dimension of humour brings about the addition of culture elements into the definition of humour such as the one from Tuncay (2007): Humour means understanding not only the language and words but their use, meaning, subtle nuances, the underlying culture, implications and unwritten messages. The idea of considering humour within the sociocultural context, and as a cultural-bound phenomenon leads to the reconsideration of other areas that most authors of humour in mono-lingual and -cultural context might have overlooked (Bell, 2009). It is also the cultural and contextual elements of humour that determine someone or something to be humorous. Indeed, once the context varies, something humorous in a particular context can become incomprehensive, inappropriate and even offensive. Due to these features, there is no single definition of humour that can be widely applicable to a wide range of research and setting. However there is another branch of humour study that concerns humour not in terms of its definition but the mechanism to that it occurs and the processes that make something humorous. 5.2. TheoriesShow MoreRelatedStudy of the Influence of Teacher Effectiveness19283 Words   |  78 Pagesin the teaching profession who are well adjusted are somewhat extroverted, but many other personality types do excellent work and that there are certainly, large number of misfits. The researcher, through a wide range of consultation in various literatures, has firmly established the existence of effectiveness in teaching, but the contentious issue bothering this study lies on the various ways of measuring teacher effectiveness and the extent it relates to students’ academic achievement. In otherRead MoreAssignment 1 – Understanding Development and Supporting Equality, Diversity and Inclusion9386 Words   |  38 Pagesdraws with more skill. âÅ"“ Displays a casual attitude toward clothing and appearance. âÅ"“ Seems to be all hands and arms. âÅ"“ Seems to possess boundless energy. âÅ"“ Wants to excel in sports and recreational skills. âÅ"“ Laughs at dark humor. âÅ"“ Is energetic and spirited. âÅ"“ Strives to be physically fit. âÅ"“ Is fascinated with how the body works. âÅ"“ May be curious about drugs, alcohol, and tobacco. Physical changes (Puberty) between ages eleven to forteen For girlsRead MoreSo, How Do People Really Use Their Handheld Devices? an Interactive Study of Wireless Technology Use13130 Words   |  53 Pagestechnologies in the workplace. Despite this dearth of behavioral wireless research, several other streams of research—on technology adoption and use and social inï ¬â€šuences—will help to inform study results. With this in mind, the current paper will review past literature on symbolic interactionism, and related social theory. From these, a framework of relevant themes will be developed which will increase our understanding of how the introduction of pervasive forms of technology (such as these wireless technology

Ict in the Film Industry - 3227 Words

ICT AND FILM INDUSTRY Digital technology in the past decade has totally changed the movie industry. Focusing on the crucial procedures of movie making and the impact that technology had on each of the areas, this research would look at recent reforms in the pre-production part of film making, furthermore we will try to know the new instruments, equipment and storage facilities being used by modern film makers and producers. Film distribution and the adverse impacts that technology has had on the movie industry, majorly on the illegitimate sale and piracy of copyrighted material is scrutinized. Post-theatre film distribution and the revolutionary breakthrough technologies in the industry are explored to look at the continuous changes in†¦show more content†¦The same technology also has the capability to rearrange the video and audio on the DVD/CD so that only a DVD with the same decryption algorithm can play the film perfectly. The CSS technology is also designed to prevent users from direct copy ing of data from DVDs. Though, not long after the CSS technology was introduced, Norwegian teenagers reverse engineered a DVD technology by breaking the code that contain the decryption algorithm and uploaded decryption software for users around the world to use. These means that the movie industry would need to keep updating and also find and option to this difficulties (markman). The post-theatre market accounts roughly for three quarters of movie’s income during its lifetime. The principal of these are video rental shops which accounts for nearly half of all profits (). The DVD has completely brought a new dimension to the industry, becoming the fastest growing customer electronics item of all time (culkin Randle 2003). DVD’s have undeniably increased film studio’s income when it decided to provide movie content to the home consumers with unbelievable picture and sound quality which does not worn out like the old VHS cassettes (markman). A new and rapidly developing area in the distributionShow MoreRelatedEssay Music and Entertainment Industry: Digital TV and MP3s702 Words   |  3 Pages In the world nowadays, ICT has been responsible for assisting in the development of entertainment. One of the things that are mainly used in music entertainment now is the MP3 files which contain music. This technology is often used to play music with digital music players such as MP3 players and iPods. This now revolutionised the entertainment as it now allows people to listen to music without the need for a physical product for the players to play music off of such as using cds it is now quickerRead MoreE Business Technologies By O. Jones And F. Tilley Essay1151 Words   |  5 Pagesinformation and communication technologies (ICTs) as when managed correctly, they have the potential to contribute to the business allowing the SME to gain a competitive advantage. Windrum and Derringer believe that ICTs have proven to be successful in increasing a firm’s competitiveness either by increasing the efficiency of internal operations and communication or by making it simpler to devel op new or improved products and services. An example of when ICTs can be useful are in questionnaires or throughRead MoreAnalyzing Radio Station Industry in Nz1300 Words   |  6 Pagesanalyzing Porter’s five forces of radio station industry in New Zealand, we could get the conclusion that four of those five forces have negative influences on the industry, namely the intensity of rivalry, the threat of substitutes, the bargaining power of buyers, and the bargaining power of suppliers. Only the threat of new entrants has positive influence. Fortunately, ICTs are broadly used in converting the negatives to positives among the radio station industry. And it actually does very well. The belowRead MoreEastman Kodak Case Study1495 Words   |  6 Pagescentered on the developments or innovations in technology, and focuses more on information and communication technology. The study looks at cloud computing, which is defined as, â€Å"†¦a modality, that uses advances in ICTs such as virtualization and grid computing for delivering a range of ICT services through software, and virtual hardware (as opposed to physical) provisioned (by data centres owned and operated by cloud providers and/or end users) according to user demands and requirements and deliveredRead MoreImpact of Internet on Modern Youth1616 Words   |  7 Pagesmedia culture is a pedagogic force that has the potential to exceed the achievements of institutionalized forms of education. As Henry Giroux puts it:â€Å"With the rise of new media technologies and the global reach of the highly concentrated culture industries, the scope and impact of the educational force of culture in shaping and refiguring all aspects of  daily life appear unprecedented. Yet the current debates have generally ignored the powerful pedagogical influence of popular culture ,along withRead MoreSwot Analysis Of Apple Inc.1226 Words   |  5 PagesJobs and Steve Wozniak on April 1, 1976 (Johnson, 2012). Originally, the duo sought to develop a simple micro-computer board that could be offered to small and businesses. However, since its conception, Apple exhibited unprecedented growth in the ICT industry with its initial products, including Apple I, Apple II and Macintosh becoming the first commercially successful personal computers that assisted Apple to develop into a profitable, well-regulated firm that has come to be today. Today, the companyRead MoreRecurrent Incidence Of Babesiosis Among Adults Essay2009 Words   |  9 Pagesserological detection for the infection provides potent tools for perfect diagnosis as well as for epidemiological analyses (8). A novel rapid serodiagnostic tools for bovine babesosis based on Immunochromatographic test (ICT) in which respective recombinant antigen labeled in ICT dipstick strips to detect Babesia antibodies in serum and Latex agglutination test in which Dye-labeled antibody, specific for target an tigen on Latex beads cards to detect Babesia antigens in blood sample can be developedRead More Information and communications technology (ICT) Essay3161 Words   |  13 PagesInformation and communications technology (ICT)? To illustrate the importance of Information and Communications technology (ICT) for the smooth running of a multi-site business. Information and communications technology is a system used to control, manage, process and create information through telecommunications technology and computers. (Otherwise known as ICT). Although information and communications technology describes a large range of systems there are still some underlining common featuresRead MoreThe Impact of Information Communication Technology on Malaysia Communication Culture in the Era of Globalization7293 Words   |  30 PagesCommunication Technology (ICT) revolution in the late 1990s. The plethora of technology proliferation happens in a structured progression, one after another. Technological improvements began to tangibly influence our way of life. Today, even primary schools are equipped with ICT teaching tools (i.e. laptops LCDs). Nevertheless, ICT plays as a key enabler of globalization that changes Malaysian public life in a big way. In fact, after the September 11, 2001 tragedy, ICT in this country has becomeRead MoreIct and Ebusines s Retail Industry88499 Words   |  354 PagesICT and e-Business Impact in the Retail Industry Study report No. 04/2008 European Commission, DG Enterprise Industry e-Mail: entr-innov-ict-ebiz@ec.europa.eu, info@ebusiness-watch.org Impact Study No. 04/2008 ICT and e-Business Impact in the Retail Industry A Sectoral e-Business Watch study by empirica GmbH Final Report Version 4.0 September 2008 This report was prepared by empirica on behalf of the European Commission, Enterprise Industry Directorate General, in the context

Condom Advertising free essay sample

Product Information: Condom has been a vital contraceptive and STD prevention tool for thousands of years. Several types of male and female condoms are available. Some condoms are made of plastic or animal tissue i. e. lambskin, latex. Condoms are the most effective against viruses such as HIV but Condom use declined markedly during the 1960s as the birth control pills was introduced and contraceptive devices such IUDs became more widely accepted. After the introduction of birth control pills people started avoiding condoms because according to them sex with condoms doesn’t give that much pleasure, But the emergence of HIV/AIDS in the early 1980s , condom use re-emerged and has became increasingly recognized as a critical means of preventing infection with HIV and other STDs that can facilitate HIV infection. Yet many of those at high risk of contracting HIV are not using condoms consistently. For example, recent studies have found that 40 % of sexually active high school students or adult world wide did not use a condom during their most ecent sexual encounter and 87 percent do not believe they are at risk of acquiring HIV. Controversy over Condoms Advertising: Condoms promotion campaigns especially those using a mass media and targeting sexually active youth are controversial. Public usually don’t want to see condoms commercial. Especially in Islamic society, a large number of people are against contraceptive advertising. Do people really feel embarrassed watching such ads in front of their family? Fear of public controversy makes official support difficult and often weakens the potential impact of mass media interventions by diluting the content of the message. Entertaining condoms commercials do always face public’s controversy. Networks don’t care whether commercials contained message or not, they want decent condoms commercials. They want condoms marketer to hide other benefits of condom except prevention of STDs and HIV/AIDs. But do decent condoms commercial can make an impact on consumers mind? Does use of humor and sexual appeal in condoms commercial lead the youngsters towards sex? Networks have been slow to respond to the increasing public acceptance of condom advertising for fear of arousing the opposition of conservative groups. Networks believe that viewers think that condoms encourage promiscuity or may be uncomfortable with the idea of condom advertising within the privacy of homes. Most of the networks want very decent commercials of condoms or otherwise they do reject commercial; Recently FOX and CBS both rejected the Trojan pigs commercial. Both had accepted Trojan’s previous campaign, which urge condom use because of the possibility that a partner might be H. I. V positive, perhaps unknowingly. In a written response to Trojan, though, FOX said that it had rejected the spot because â€Å"Contraceptive advertising must stress health-related uses rather than the prevention of pregnancy. Due to limited budget and other restrictions, condom marketers and advertisers are facing many problems, because of these restrictions condoms advertiser tend to direct their message to niches audiences through targeted magazines and cable stations (i-e MTV, Channel V, SHE magazine ) rather than the major broadcast networks. The restrictions placed on condom advertising by networks and local stations combined with the modest dvertising budgets of condoms marketers has kept condom advertising at low to imperceptible levels. Advertising of condoms remains more restricted than advertising of many other products including contraceptives. And whether it is due to those restrictions or for other financial reasons, the advertising budgets of condom companies have been so low that condom ads have bee n relatively rare even on those networks and affiliates willing to accept such ads. We have seen many beer commercials; Viagra and oral contraceptive appear on TV (different networks of world) regularly, condom advertising remains limited and highly controversial. Condom advertising is prohibited by National Association of broadcasters’ (NAB) code of Conducts and many religious parties do not permit networks to air its commercials. The first network in the world was KNTV, San Jose, which despite codes decided to carry a spot for Trojan in 1975. Some of the networks and stations that accept condom commercials impose certain limits on them, such as restricting the time of the day they can be run, or requiring their messages to be focused on diseases prevention rather than birth control. Condom marketers express frustration with the time limits networks impose. Condoms marketer could not place their condom ad during primetime even though other consumer product are able to run a network commercial that stimulate sex. Some networks draw a strong line between messages about disease prevention – which may be allowed – and those about pregnancy prevention, which may be considered controversial for religious and moral reasons. Policies for Condoms Advertising: The sensitive and personal nature of this product category warrants that particular care be exercised by the advertiser in the development of commercials. Such commercials will be accepted only if they meet the following conditions: Commercials must: †¢deal solely with the issue of disease prevention †¢make education of the public of primary importance †¢display and promotion of the product must be done in a responsible and sensible manner Commercials must not: †¢make mention of contraception †¢promote casual sex and promiscuity Public Opposition: Usually in forming policies for condom advertising, networks executives rely heavily on audience feedback. The less they hear from viewers on issues around condoms advertising, the better they assume such advertising is received. Silence is golden in this case! The less response, the better it is. Industry executives agree that the landscape for condom ads has improved markedly in the last several years but note that there are still significant obstacles to overcome for greater consistency in policy and broader acceptance. Advertisers vow to continue trying to reach a broad market through network television and say they will grow their budgets when they can more easily place their ads. Most networks say they will continue to evaluate viewer reception to ads from this small but increasingly less controversial advertiser. Most of the people believe that condom ads motivate young’s to do sex because it eliminates the fear of HIV/AIDS, STDs and Pregnancy. And it opposes the traditional values that sex should be kept within the marriage bed. People oppose condom ads because they promote promiscuity. Some TV stations, especially on cable, permit some limited condom advertising, but only late at night when children are presumed to be asleep. Condoms adverts do often appear in magazines which appeal to young adults. Whenever people see condom commercials they switched the other channel or will turnoff the T. V set or may be leave the gathering immediately. Family planning groups argue such ads could help reduce teen pregnancies and check the spread of sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS. People celebrate the sensational aspects of sex and sexuality while entangling the public health aspects of the issue in a straightjacket of fear, shame and denial. Manufacturer do use sexy images to sell sneakers, soft drinks, cars and cosmetics, doesn’t it make a sense for the condom marketer to use them. What do we believe that condom advertising should be aired on TV, there was no consensus on how ad should feature the product and when it should be aired. Our world is on the verge of an AIDs epidemic. Can we afford to be coy about sex and contraception? In urban settings, people seem to know that condoms, if used properly can deter the spread of HIV/AIDs and prevent pregnancy. Many new studies have shown that condom advertising, banned for many years on network television is acceptable to most Americans, Europeans, Germans and Asians. The spread of HIV/AIDS has convinced a growing number of governments to liberalize policies toward condom advertising. Condom ads were once banned in the United Kingdom and France, for example, but are now legal. Other countries that explicitly permit condom advertising include Brazil, Colombia, Denmark, France, Peru, Singapore, and Uganda. The government of Ethiopia itself advertises contraceptives, including condoms. In Russia a government safe-sex campaign uses advertising as its main approach. In contrast, some governments continue to forbid condom advertising or strictly regulate it. In Indonesia, for example, condom advertising is not allowed if condoms are promoted for sexual activities such as extramarital sex or sex with commercial sex workers—illicit activities likely to spread HIV/AIDS—but is acceptable if condoms are promoted as a family planning method . Condom ads do not negatively affect viewer’s attitudes toward advertising, although networks restrict the time of the day when condom ads can air and limit their message and tone. But the question arises that these ads should be aired only on a particular time Do the message of safe sex if not for the whole society? Or only particular classes of society are exposed to the risk of sexually transmitted diseases or HIV/AIDs or pregnancy? Ten years ago, no broadcast television network would air a paid condom commercial. Today, three of the six major broadcast networks allow condom companies to advertise on their airwaves, with some limitations on message, tone, and time of day. Fox began accepting condom ads in 1991, CBS in 1998, and NBC in 1999. ABC, UPN, and The WB continue to prohibit paid condom ads. ABC airs ads for prescription birth control pills, and The WB says it would consider ads for the pill as well. UPN and The WB do not broadcast network programming after 10 p. m. Several cable companies have allowed condom advertising for years, and some broadcasters that restrict paid condom ads accept public service ads referencing condoms or safer sex. One advertising agency said that television is one of the most effective means of educating people on the use of contraceptives. However, business people should avoid offending local cultural, social and religious sensitivities. It can be difficult to promote a practice or a product that can interfere with sexual pleasure, can be awkward to use, provides no immediate rewards, and is often associated with distrust and immorality, and whose reliability and effectiveness are often questioned. To be effective, condom promotion must engage people, reach them emotionally, and persuade them that using condoms is important, acceptable, convenient, and the social norm. The advertising of condoms can be especially difficult in conservative societies. The approach in Egypt, where the target is families and the message is family planning, contrasts dramatically with a risque 1998 advertising campaign developed by McCann-Erickson for Durex condoms, targeting young single people and run in Europe. In Egypt, an advertising execution for a condom brand shows a father and mother introducing themselves and their children in a loving way. The message, explained by the parents, is that having only two children, spaced a few years apart, means that one can spend time and attention taking care of them. The advertising of condoms is a very sensitive topic, whether in the context of family planning or preventive health care. In Bahrain, regarded as one of the more liberal Gulf States, the advertising of contraceptives is forbidden. Other products may also be subject to restrictions because of a desire to maintain modesty in the society. For example, a Korean company applied for permission to advertise its underwear product in the Bahrain airport location. The advertising was acceptable only if the words â€Å"Best Cotton Underwear† was removed; which shows the offending text crossed out. Benefits of Condoms Commercials: Several factors proved the importance of condoms advertising: the devastations wrought by HIV/AIDS; the sexual nature of many TV shows; if you see from the public point of view, condoms have an even greater potential in that they can reduce the risk of aids and other STDs, networks are not justifying turning condoms ads down while accepting other contraceptive ads. Following are the main reason why we favored condom commercials: 1) Lack of awareness (especially among sexually active young people) of the effectiveness of condoms in preventing the transmission of HIV/AIDS and some other STIs, as well as pregnancy. ) Promote condom use as fashionable, acceptable and responsible, and as an essential part of HIV/AIDS, sexual health and sex education. 3) Short, 30-60 second radio and television advertising spots can be highly effective in delivering health-related messages. 4) To educate the public to the only product capable of slowing the spread’’ of acquired immune deficie ncy syndrome, or AIDS. 5) It will reduce the unwanted pregnancy rates Condoms Advertisement in Pakistan In Pakistan, men are the primary reason why family planning is not a priority and contraceptive use is so low. In a country with about 130 million people, only 12 percent of Pakistani women report using a modern contraceptive method, and Pakistan has the highest total fertility rate among the ten most populous countries. Mens concerns, beliefs, and practices must be addressed; failure to do so will relegate Pakistan, and its women, to continued high birth rates and unnecessary maternal and child deaths. Men must be motivated to act, to be concerned about their familys and their wifes health. Only when men act, or at least do not interfere when their wives desire to act, will the situation improves. The widespread social marketing of condoms in Pakistan has been useful in exposing men to modern methods of avoiding unwanted pregnancies. In Pakistan, men dominate all activities outside the household, including shopping. Thus, men see Sathi condoms at local shops, learn from the media or from friends that it is a simple and affordable means of preventing an unwanted pregnancy, and are inspired to purchase it. Sathi can thus be seen as an introduction to modern contraception, with some couples then graduating to more effective or permanent methods. Targeting Men: The overriding dominance of men as decision-makers in Pakistan, and the restrictions on womens movements outside the home, has fueled the need to target men in national FP campaigns. Condoms, the premier male contraceptive method, have traditionally been promoted to men. As a result, PSI/SMP has tailored its multi-media condom social marketing messages and educational campaigns to appeal to men and address their resistance points. a. Sense of Male Responsibility The objective of these campaigns is to increase a mans sense of responsibility for family size and for his wifes reproductive health. An increased sense of male responsibility combined with appropriate knowledge about the benefits of family planning, messages which motivate action, and clear instructions on where to go for quality FP products and services should lead to increased contraceptive use. PSI/SMP has used multiple strategies to motivate men to purchase Sathi condoms. b. Providing Relevant and Correct Information to Men Even with female contraceptive methods such as Green Star IUDs, oral contraceptives (OCs), and injectables PSI/SMP targets its messages for male as well as female clients. It is critical to get the men on board since they have an important role not only in the decision to purchase contraceptives, but because they are often the ones to buy the products. In some cases, when a womans movements are restricted by purdah, for example, her husband will visit the doctor or pharmacist and may be the only source of information on oral contraceptives and their potential side effects. c. Small Family Norm The PSI/SMP television and cinema commercials which promote Green Star hormonal contraceptives and FP clinics prominently feature men. In one scene, a husband is at first reluctant to discuss family planning with his wife, or permit her to visit a Green Star clinic. After a dream sequence, in which the husband is overwhelmed by rowdy, noisy children, he immediately agrees with his wife that there should be an adequate period between births in order to give each child the time and attention she/he deserves. The commercial closes with the couple visiting a Green Star FP clinic together. d. Male Providers While PSI/SMP is engaged in intensive efforts to train female medical practitioners, it will also train thousands of male doctors and pharmacists. Research indicates that men are more likely to go to other men particularly male doctors and pharmacists for information about family planning. It is therefore important that these male medical practitioners provide correct information to men, so that misconceptions can be dispelled and men can assist and even motivate their wives to begin practising contraception. e. Inter-spousal Communication PSI/SMP also communicates more generic messages to the public, those which do not promote a specific contraceptive method or brand, but instead aim to change behaviors in ways that encourage family planning practice. For example, television, radio, and other media promote inter-spousal communication, with a husband and wife discussing family planning options. Research in other countries has shown that couples who discuss family planning are more likely to use modern contraceptives than those couples who avoid the subject. f. Girl Child Throughout its communications campaigns, PSI/SMP has strived to improve the status of women in Pakistan through positive and empowering images and messages. In all PSI/SMP advertisements, for example, a couple is shown with only one child a girl with the father obviously loving and caring for the girl. By consistently showing a girl child, PSI/SMP hopes that this will decrease Pakistani mens preference for a male child, and show that girls are equal in value to boys. Improving the status of women in the eyes of men and in the eyes of the society will lead to increased female empowerment, ultimately resulting in women asserting more control over their reproductive health and family size. Since Pakistan is considered an Islamic society, running condoms commercial on air would raise some controversies. People are not ready to accept these commercials. For them watching condoms commercial, discussing sexual issues is a bit embarrassing. Condom commercial motivates people to have sex out of marriage bed and this is what against their traditional values. It is something that is prohibited in Islam. Condoms advertising were aimed to be potentially socially sensitive in the Asian community, particularly which could clash with traditional values, like keeping oneself disinterested and pure, having few desires, respect for tradition, and moderation, i. . , following the middle way and having a sense of shame.

Athlete Salary free essay sample

How would you like to get paid millions just because people like to watch you do your job? Well that is exactly what is happening in the world of professional sports. Athletes are being over paid just to play play a game. This kind of income promotes over spending and bad life choices by many playing sports. The salaries of professional athletes need to bee lowered. Many people who have tougher jobs are more deserving of that kind of money, and the athletes that make that kind of money waste it and have no morals. There are definately people more deserving of high salaries than a professional athlete. The president of the united states, who has one of the toughest jobs in the nation, makes no where near as much as an athlete. Barack Obama makes around $400,000 a year while Alex Rodriguez makes around $33 million a year (McSharry ). Another job that effects the lives of almost every american is the job of a school teacher. We will write a custom essay sample on Athlete Salary or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page School teachers are very deserving of high pay and yet the average income of a high school teacher is only $43,437 (Teacher Salary ). That is only a mere fraction of what some of todays sports entertainers make. People who serve in the miltary are also much more deserving of a highi salary than an athlete. Anyone who serves in any branch of the military puts their life in danger almost every day on the job. However the average salary of military personnel is only around $60,000 a year (Military Salary ). That is a very low income for someone who takes the chance of dying everytime theyre doing their job. And what if you are in an emergency situation and need to be rushed to a hospital? Your best bet is an ambulance. The person driving the ambulance and rushing you to hekp only gets paid an average of $27, 639 a year (Average Ambulance )! That pales in comparison to the income of even retired athletes like Michael Jordan who still rakes in around $45 million a year (#18 Michael ). Although there are a select few athletes that actually donate some of their income and use their high pay for good uses, the majority of athletes waste their money and live immoral lifestyles. The athletes have money thrown at them, usually at a young age, and they have no discipline. They make bad investments and do absurd amounts of spending. Cars, houses, clothing, partying, and sometimes even drugs are all parts of most athletes lifestyles (The 6 ). This kind of living often results in players going bankrupt (The 6 ). Many athletes also get into trouble with the law becauses they think they are invincible and can buy their way out of anything. An example of an athlete who let all the fame and fortune go to his head and in turn led an immoral lifestyle is Tiger Woods. Tiger Woods, who was married with kids, admitted to having affairs with over 100 women (30, Vancouver ). He used his fame and money to gain affairs with women whicih eventually split his family apart. The best way to put an end to some of the excessive spending and lifestyles would be to put a salary cap into play. Athough players would still get paid quite a bit of money, there would at least be a limit to how much they get. Enforcing a salary cap might also make players respect their jobs a little more. Maybe star athletes would try harder if they didnt have such whopping salaries. Maybe making salaries based more on performance would help. says Perry Norris a pro sports fan in favor of the salary cap. Enforcing a salary cap might also help to make the game more fair. If all the players incomes were set then the more talented players would not pile up on the team that pays the most. The fact that athletes are over paid is something that definately does not need to be overlooked. Players lifestyles will continue to spiral out of control if their income is not limited. The salaries of professional athletes continue to go up and and are peaking in the hundred million dollar range (Freedman ). A salary cap needs to be enforced as soon as soon as possible.

Significance of Organizational Behavior

Organizational behavior has routinely been studied since its discovery in the hawthorn study. Research indicates an inextricable relationship between organizational behavior and a firm’s performance. Understanding organizational behavior enables managers to discover synergies for employee performance.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Significance of Organizational Behavior specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Therefore, the study of organizational development has led to the creation of positive organizational behavior as advanced by positivist psychologists1. Organizational learning process is critical to organizations because it helps management teams and low-end employees to adapt to the workplace environment, and to grow their competitive advantage2. The process of learning behavior at the work place such as seeking new information, apportioning time to improve work flow procedures, and testing the validity of work assumptions offers employees to reflect on their actions. This allows them to acquire knowledge and helps in sharing information3. The extent to which members of an organization interact to understand individual characteristics helps employees to develop a common base for a mutual collaboration. Studies have indicated that mutual coexistence among employees and their immediate seniors enhances knowledge and information sharing, which promotes and concretizes their ability to understand and execute their respective duties. The nature of relationships illustrates that while people may have different personal dispositions and different personal attributes, learning and interaction can generate greater mutuality4. Therefore, if organizations fail to implement facilitate employee learning programs, they run a risk of impeding successful behavior learning, which may hamper improved performance. A review of the literature indicates that people naturally know little about their fel lows, and they would need reinforcement to develop learning competencies. Though many researchers have devoted a lot of their time in investigating the significance of behavior learning at work environment, most researchers have confined their studies on notions of negative behavior5. The role of positive behavior in building positive interpersonal relationships helps organizational members to share their variable information, which remain essential to creating new approaches to completing work processes.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The extent and the quality of learning behavior of individuals and groups in an organization makes people feel highly appreciated and valued and helps to neutralize the uncertainties and tensions. Capacity and objective and subjective experiences of employees with their colleagues and supervisors contribute to better subordinate-superior rel ationships. Researchers argue that while negative organizational behavior may have a devastating impact on an organization’s capacity to progress, understanding variations in behavior can be used to nurture mutually coordinated relationships. This is because the process of learning organizational behavior facilitates connectivity of relationships, and captures openness to differences. This scenario helps members to free themselves and clear doubts and negative perceptions about their counterparts. Studies indicate that connectivity among employees through behavior learning enhances the development of non-defensive reactions, and facilitates sharing of knowledge about new challenges6. Therefore, using organizational behavior, organizations are able to generate impetus for future successes. References Carmeli, A., D Brueller, JE Dutton, ‘Learning Behaviors in the Workplace: The Role of High-quality Interpersonal Relationships and Psychological Safety’, Systems Res earch and Behavioral Science, vol. 26, 2009. 81-98. Luthans, F, AH Church, ‘Positive organizational behavior: Developing and managing psychological strengths.’ Academy of Management Executive, vol. 16, no. 1, 2002. Footnotes 1 A Carmeli, Brueller, D JE Dutton, ‘Learning Behaviors in the Workplace: The Role of High-quality Interpersonal Relationships and Psychological Safety’, Systems Research and Behavioral Science, vol. 26, 2009. 81-98. 2 F Luthans AH Church, ‘Positive organizational behavior: Developing and managing psychological strengths.’ Academy of Management Executive, vol. 16, no. 1, 2002.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Significance of Organizational Behavior specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More 3 F Luthans AH Church, ‘Positive organizational behavior: Developing and managing psychological strengths.’ Academy of Management Executive, vol. 16, no. 1, 2 002. 4 A Carmeli, Brueller, D JE Dutton, p. 81-98. 5 F Luthans AH Church, ‘Positive organizational behavior: Developing and managing psychological strengths.’ Academy of Management Executive, vol. 16, no. 1, 2002. 6 A Carmeli, Brueller, D JE Dutton, p. 81-98. 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The Third Gender Evolutionary explanation for Male Homosexuality Essays

The Third Gender Evolutionary explanation for Male Homosexuality Essays The Third Gender Evolutionary explanation for Male Homosexuality Essay The Third Gender Evolutionary explanation for Male Homosexuality Essay Fag, faggot, fairy, fart knocker, felcher, fruit, fuck face, pansy, pantywaist, pillow biter, poof, poove, pouf, queen, queer, shit-stabber and turd burglar: just some of the culture specific slang words still in use today to address homosexuals and male homosexuality. As cited in Buss (1994) Helena Cronin says, We are walking archives of ancestral wisdom and perhaps it is true that ancestral wisdom has little to do with homosexual behavior when looked at it from the perspective of Darwinian sexual selection. Nonetheless, with an ongoing global campaign for homosexual awareness it becomes, in my opinion, an important part of evolutionary psychology to address homosexualitys progression as a probable byproduct of sexual selection. Evolutionary Theorists across the globe struggle with the idea of homosexuality in context to Darwin especially due to irregularities in defining sexual preference. Ideally, all men ought to be heterosexual so that they may procreate and achieve fitness. It is unlikely that sexual sterilization would not only survive but also thrive in circumstances present today. Nonetheless, Homosexuality with all the derogatory terms language has cultivated exists and finds in its category a growing number of men. As Stephen Dawkins (2005) recently said, The problem with verifying evolution is not that there hasnt been enough time but that there has been too much time. When seen from the evolutionary psychologists point of view the possibility of homosexuality as a valuable instrument in developing mating behavior becomes more and more viable in lieu of its contradictory nature. In my paper I hope to argue that male homosexuality is actually an evolutionary tool for efficiency in sexual selection by bringing together various theories by Buss. What Men Want Why They Want it Evolutionarily, men have a vested interest in furthering their chances of producing offspring and thereby propagating their genetic information. For this purpose they have two main mating strategies: 1. Short Term Mating Strategy 2. Long Term Mating Strategy Short Term Mating Strategy involves the male to be active in casual sex relationships with many women. This strategy is used to make sure that his reproductive value would increase at least by an average. The second strategy is an evolved strategy that benefits men who invest time and resources in a woman who would depend on these resources for her better survival. It is with the help of the Long Term Mating Strategy that the man ensures the possibility of reproductive success through a contractual relationship with a woman e.g. marriage. Having said this, Buss insists that male homosexuality is an extension of mans evolutionary heterosexual behavior: both of short and long term mating strategies. The two men require similar characteristics in their mates e.g. youth, good looking and are identical in their mating strategies except for one, that the homosexual man is attracted to men instead of women. Hamer discussed this difference as a possibility for a gay gene in his 1993 study. Although McKnight has pointed out that even though with there being a genetic difference between male homosexuals and heterosexuals, it is still largely an area that needs further research. This indirect evidence of a genetic basis for at least some forms of male homosexuality is supported by three decades of research reporting chemical and anatomical differences between straight and gay men. (McKnight, 1997) On further experimentation, McKnight writes on Hamers theory of the gay gene, At this preliminary stage we have no found support for Hamers suggestion (McKnight Malcolm, 2000) He further states, Our analysis failed to find a distinctive reproductive pattern, which might emerge with a larger sample size, but if repeated would suggest that the genetic mechanism is autosomal. (McKnight Malcolm, 2000) Buss writes that, Many men who prefer women as mates may nonetheless substitute a man as a sex partner, either because of an inability to attract women or because of a temporary situational constraint that preludes access to women (Buss, 1994) This is true in the case of prisons or forcefully held captives but not always true of the large population of gay men in society today. Buss (1994) further continues that, Male homosexuals and male heterosexuals seem to have indistinguishable mating preferences, expect with respect to the sex of their preferred partner. Evolutionary Problem / Solution regarding Homosexuality There are two main evolutionary problems with homosexual behavior that emphasize its extinction. Still, keeping conflicting motives in mind between evolution and homosexuality, the gay male introduces himself as a tool for understanding evolutionary motivations. 1. Procreation With similar mating strategies between male heterosexuals and homosexuals, it becomes increasingly complicated to understand why the homosexual man has survived and continues to do so. The two men (straight gay) share in common certain characteristic requirements of their mates. The straight male can produce children and therefore increase his evolutionary fitness. On the other hand, the gay male cannot reproduce. There are obvious disadvantages of homosexuality that natural selection would eventually select out such as the inability to procreate. Evolutionary advantage works to increase the average growth of the species and the homosexual male cannot be used as a catalyst. Yet, according to the Census of 2001 there has been a rise of gay population across the United States. McKnight (2000) exclaims in his paper that there is a real puzzle here and it goes to the heart of sexuality as no sex equals no children. While sex has more purposes than reproduction, begetting offspring is the ultimate end game a relationship more clearly understood in an age of unreliable contraception. He calls this phenomenon Child Hunger. It would according to evolutionary theorists be baffling to understand homosexuality in face with the fact that it results in no children and therefore is not child hungry yet it not only exists but increases rapidly. Male homosexual orientation is particularly problematic as it is a behavior that is clearly a reproductive liability. (Weinrich, 1978 as cited in McKnight, 2000) 2. Sexual Variability The idea of normalcy in terms of sexual behavior globally has changed drastically over and over again through the course of history. The categorization of men as homosexuals and heterosexuals labels, confines naturally sexual deviations into one or the other group. That many men having homosexual experiences as part of their development was deeply disturbing to the mid twentieth century, does not disguise that similar studies report similar findings at the end of the millennium. Kinsey (Kinsey, Pomeroy and Martin 1948) may have lifted the lid on the realities of human sexual experience but a half-century of further research merely confirms how plastic our sexuality is. (McKnight, 2000) This plasticity of sexual behavior increases the likelihood that homosexual behavior although conflicting with evolutionary psychology indeed is a process of increasing sexual deviations and therefore the possibility of natural selection in sexual experience. Through gay behavior the human male is abl e to explore all possibilities of sexual behavior that would excite and entice him into an evolutionary advantage over men who are not as sexually active. Origins of Homosexuality According to Buss (1994), the origins of homosexuality remain a mystery. Yet, the alarming increase in males who prefer men as their mates seem as if the origins of homosexuality similar to that of heterosexuality is the same. Sexual selection provides for variants in sexuality not unlike natural selection. If you accept that human sexual orientation is diverse and variable and above all plastic, then there is a certain sympathy for Murphys view: It is hard to see that there is any reason to study the origins of behavior that is morally, medically, psychologically (and perhaps even religiously) aproblematic. (Murphy, 1990 as cited in McKnight, 2000) Nonetheless, evolutionary theorists have studied the origins of homosexuality in great detail attempting to find a key difference between straight and gay men. Biological Influences as origin of homosexuality: Alexander (2000) initiated research in finding structural and functional differences between homosexual and heterosexual males. He writes that Burnham in 1977 had noted that females have smaller brains than males and therefore women were less intellectual then men. Although it is true that male brains are somewhat larger than female brains, this is the first example of structural difference that does not evince a measurable behavior difference. (Alexander, 2000) Similarly, the fact that there might be some structural differences between straight and gay men it does not account for the fact that there would be core differences in sexual preferences. Alexander (2000) further noted that the Committee for the Study of Sex Variants in New York City in the 1930s studied a homosexual population using various psychological tests, hormonal measurements and physiological measurements of the genitalia and other body parts including skull circumference. The authors of the study realized that there was no conclusive proof that any individual may be a so called sex variant and or might be more prone to homosexual behavior than the next person. (Henry, 1948 as cited in Alexander, 2000) These inconclusive studies provided for further research that might shed light on biological aspects of homosexuality. The early 1990s was a remarkably productive period of time for research into sexual dimorphism of brain areas. (Alexander, 2000) If there would be any biological connective that was found then it would also be possible to understand the motivations for homosexuality and categorize it in terms of evolutionary advantage, if any, by studying the population. This was not the case. Although there were studies done by researchers such as Allen and Gorski in 1990 and 1991 Taken together, these finding indicate that sexually dimorphic structures can be found in many different areas of the brain. (Alexander, 2000) A foremost breakthrough in these studies was by Swaab and Hofman, 1990 in which distinct differences were noted. The Suprachiasmatic nucleus of vasopressin-containing neurons was double in homosexual men when compared to heterosexual males. (LeVay, 1991) Further studies compared Swaabs findings with that of Allen and Gorski that concluded that the anterior commissure (found to be sexually dimorphic larger in females) also was different according to sexual orientation such that it was larger in homosexual males compared with both heterosexual males and females. Since the homosexual group did not fall between or have identical size to the female group, this outcame gave rise to another working hypothesis of a third sex the gay sex. (Alexander, 2000) Nonetheless Breedloves 1997 study proved that this hypothesis was false. Breedlove concluded that there was no evidence that the outcome mentioned before was not an effect rather than a cause. It is possible that differences in sexual beh avior cause, rather than are cause by, differences in brain structure. (Breedlove, 1997) Since there is no actual biological root that explains homosexuality, it is possible that similar to heterosexuality, it was used as a tool to better achieve fitness. Male homosexuality, in my opinion can be explained in evolutionary terms as follows: 1. Sex used as a tool for reciprocal altruism Women have evolutionarily used sex as a means to get resources and guarantee a mate through promising sex. Homosexuality, similarly, in men can be used to coopt resources and guarantee a long term partner that would invest resources. 2. Adoption of Children Homosexual men are also an added advantage in a social structure that produces excess children with little life expectancy without adequate domestic care. They can provide as means of adoption and surrogate parents an alternative to what may be now considered a family. 3. Reduction of Same Sex Conflict Homosexual behavior might also be responsible for creating coalitions amongst men that would eventually decrease male male aggression and therefore increase evolutionary advantage for the species by an average. These three suppositions go without any data to support them and I would find it interesting to look at studies that would explore homosexuality as an added advantage for evolutionary success.

Exporters Having Problems in the United Kingdom Case Study

Exporters Having Problems in the United Kingdom - Case Study Example Analysis: This was one proof of how environmental groups apply pressure on exporters through large UK companies. They cite that if another supermarket chain, Sainsbury's, can do it (that is, sell apples sourced from Britain), then Tesco should be able to do it. Tesco denied the claim and promised in 2003 that it would not import apples from August through February from any Southern Hemisphere country, notably New Zealand, Chile, and South Africa. An article in the Wall Street Journal mentions the case of Haagen-Dazs chocolate-covered ice-cream bar. The label does not mention any genetically modified ingredients listed there, but consumers who question the company about it are sent a letter stating that the bar's chocolate coatings, in fact, contain soy oil that "may have been derived from genetically modified soya, but it is identical to any other soya oil and therefore does not contain any genetically modified material." The letter adds, "We are, however, investigating whether there are suitable alternative oils." In another case, AstraZeneca was forced to take off the market a bioengineered tomato puree. Despite outselling other popular and more expensive brands, the genetically modified food controversy affected its sales negatively until the company, AstraZeneca, had to pull out the product from the supermarket chain J. Sainsbury PLC. Analysis: This case illustrates the paranoia in the UK about genetically-modified foods, even though there's no proof that bioengineered foods pose any health risks. As Haagen-Dazs did, the best way to address the problem is to be forthright in admitting the scientific fact that genetically modified soy is identical to any other soya. It can be funny, but it's true, that there is not much difference, scientifically, between soya that is modified through naturally occurring genetics and one that is genetically modified in the laboratory. In the case of the tomato puree, a successful product, despite being labeled genetically engineered and proven to be a good one, suffered. This could have been avoided if the company came up with a more forthright communication plan to show that genetically modified tomato puree was, as Haagen-Dazs did with soya, better than any other tomato puree. Â  

Critically evaluate one approach to organisational culture change - Essay

Critically evaluate one approach to organisational culture change - Yandex Case Study - Essay Example Justify your recommendations with supporting evidence. Yandex is the leading search engine in Russia. The success of the firm is closely related to its strategic decisions and its structure. However, it is clear that certain interventions are required in order for the firm’s goals to be fully achieved. The update of the firm’s OD strategy would be a potential solution for the above problem. The OD framework developed by Brown (2011), see also Graph 1 – Appendix, can be considered as a quite effective tool for developing the particular task. Primarily, the involvement of this tool in the restructuring of the firm’s OD strategy should be appropriately justified; reference should be made to the firm’s goals. ... Despite the fact that the promotion of the above strategy has helped the firm to keep its performance at high levels, still there is a series of organizational issues, which need to be appropriately addressed. The change of the firm’s existing OD strategy would be the most effective way for achieving the above target. This change could be based on the OD framework of Brown (2011), see Graph 1, Appendix. In the context of this framework, the firm’s current strategy should be restructured at the following points: a) at the first stage, the need for change should be clearly defined – meaning that the firm’s strategic managers should understand this need and should be willing to support it; Yandex is a firm well established in the Russian market, controlling the 57% of the specific market; the profitability of the firm is high, being increased at a level of 80% annually (page 2, case study); moreover, its employees are chosen through a detailed recruitment pro cess which guarantees that only candidates with the necessary skills enter the organization; from this point of view, the change of the firm’s strategy – in one or more areas – would have many chances of success, taking into consideration the exceptional relationships among employees and the high level of communication/ cooperation across the organization, b) emphasis should be given on the improvement of the relationship between the employees and the clients; despite the fact that communication and collaboration in the internal organizational environment is highly developed, in the firm’s external environment the following problem seems to exist: the relationship between

The question is the topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The question is the topic - Essay Example This will teach children to resolve manageable problems by assuming responsibility. Part of self-reliance means learning from mistakes therefore,parents must encourage the children more to keep going when things go wrong from the consequences of their action. Bibliotherapy is also an effective way to raise their awareness and is useful in resolving behavior problems by means of reading current events to them(Miller, 2010, 260). Delaying gratification of children also helps to develop their personal responsibility and good impulse control. Impulse control is theability to wait or be patient in order to obtain something they want.Another critical aspect that parents must consider while making their kids self-reliant and personally developed is to allow children to think independently and on their own. If children fail in their attempts leading to the right answersbut eventually find the right solutions for a given problem, praise them for their success and achievement. Generally, parents’ behaviors are often the child’s model of self-reliance and children demonstrated this role modeling by their own actions as well.All parents want their kids to perform and achieve better in their lives, and one definite way to help them is to let parents know the importance of being independent and to execute values learned among

PSA Composite Fibers and Membranes

PSA Composite Fibers and Membranes Polysulfonamide/nano titanium dioxide (PSA/nano-TiO2) composite spinning solutions with various nano-TiO2  mass fractions were prepared using the solution blending method. The corresponding composite fibers were developed by wet-spinning technology and the composite membranes were prepared using the digital spin-coating technique. The properties of PSA/nano-TiO2 composite fibers and membranes were investigated by scanning electron  microscope, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction, etc. The effects of nano-TiO2 and its  mass fractions on the mechanical properties, thermal stability and ultraviolet resistance of PSA composites were  also analyzed. The experimental results showed that nano-TiO2 with low mass fractions can be dispersed evenly  in the PSA matrix; the blending of nano-TiO2 had no obvious influence on the molecular structure and the chemical composition of PSA fiber; the crystallization in PSA fiber was promoted at low nanoparticles mass f ractions  because it can act as a nucleation agent; the mechanical properties and the thermal stability of PSA/nano-TiO2  composites can be enhanced obviously by blending nano-TiO2 into PSA matrix. The ultraviolet resistance of PSA  composites can be improved significantly with the increasing nano-TiO2 mass fractions and the 7 wt.% specimen  showed the lowest UV transmittance. Polysulfonamide (PSA) fiber is a new kind of hightemperature resistant material and it has outstanding  heat resistance, flame retardancy, and thermal stability,  therefore, it can be used to develop protective products used in aerospace, high-temperature environments  and civil fields with the flame retardant requirements  (Ren, Wang, Zhang, 2007; Wang, 2009). However,  raw PSA generally demonstrates poor ultraviolet resistance and the amide groups in polymer molecular  chains are prone to break down under the ultraviolet  radiation; besides, the breaking tenacity of PSA fibers  is low; these properties lead to some difficulties in its  manufacturing procedures and limit its application in  developing functional textiles. Therefore, it is a challenging work to improve the mechanical properties  and ultraviolet resistance of PSA. It has been proved that nano-TiO2 is one of the  ideal nano-enhanced materials and it has attracted great  scientific attention because of its excellent mechanical  properties in significantly improved properties of composites (Ali, Shadi, Shirin, Seyedeh, Khademno,  2010; Han Yu, 2005). Moreover, nano-TiO2 is good  semiconductor oxides and it has excellent ultraviolet  scattering and absorption (Popov, Priezzhev, Lademann, Myllylà ¤, 2005). It is feasible to blend nanoTiO2 into PSA matrix to improve the mechanical properties and ultraviolet resistance of PSA composites. Experimental Materials The PSA polymer was used as spinning solution with  intrinsic viscosity of 2.0–2.5 dL/g and relative molecular  mass of 462. The rutile titanium dioxide (nano-TiO2)  was blended as functional particles with a diameter ranging from 30 to 50 nm and the rutile content of nano-TiO2  was about 99%. The dimethylacetamide (DMAC) was  selected as dissolvent in this study. The above materials  were provided by Shanghai Tanlon Fiber Co. Ltd. All the  chemicals used here were of reagent grade and they were  used without further purification. Preparation of PSA/nano-TiO2 composites A certain amount of nano-TiO2 was predispersed in  DMAC using ultrasonic vibration for 30min; and thenadded into the PSA solution. The PSA/nano-TiO2  composite spinning solutions with various mass fractions of nanoparticles was prepared after mechanical stirring for 1 h and ultrasonic vibration for 2 h. The  experimental data are shown in Table 1. The pure PSA fibers and PSA/nano-TiO2 composite fibers were developed by a small-scale and singlescrew wet spinning apparatus. Besides, the pure PSA  membrane and PSA/nano-TiO2 composite membranes  were prepared using the SJT-B digital spin-coating  instrument. The preparation procedures of nanofibers  and membranes can be referred to the previous studies  (Chen, Xin, Wu, Wang, Du, in press; Xin, Chen,  Wu, Wang, in press). Test methods The dispersion of nanoparticles in PSA composites  S-3400N scanning electron microscope (SEM) with a  resolution of 4 nm was used to characterize the dispersion of nano-TiO2 in PSA matrix. The machine was  operated at 5 kV. FTIR spectroscopy Thermo Nicolet AVATAR 370 Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to characterize the  molecular structure and chemical composition of  fibers; each spectrum was collected by cumulating 32  scans at a resolution of 4 cm_1 X-ray diffraction X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements of the crystalline structure of fibers were recorded on k780  FirmV_06 X-ray diffraction using the CuKÃŽ ± radiation  (ÃŽ » = 0.15406 nm). The spectra were obtained at 2h  angles range of 5o –60o with a scanning speed of 0.8 s/ step. Mechanical properties test YG006 electronic single fiber strength tester was used  to investigate the mechanical properties of fibers. The  sample gage length was 10mm. The elongation speed  was set at 20mm/min. The measurements for each  sample were carried out 10 times and the average wasThe thermal stability test  The thermal stability of fibers was measured by Germany STA PT-1000 Thermal Gravimetric Analyzer  (Linseis Inc., New Jersey, USA); the experiment was  conducted under nitrogen atmosphere with a gas flow  of 80–100ml/min; the samples were heated up to  700 °C from the room temperature at a heating rate of  20 °C/min. Ultraviolet resistance test Labsphere UV-1000F Ultraviolet Transmittance Analyzer (Labsphere, Inc., North Sutton, NH, USA) was  used to test the UV transmittance of membranes. The  instrument parameters were described as below: the  absorbance was 0–2.5A; scanning time was about 5 s;  data interval was 1 nm and the diameter of beam was  10mm. The measurements for each sample were carried out for 10 times and the average was used for the  result discussion. Results and discussion The distribution of nano-TiO2 in PSA composites As demonstrated in Figure 1, 1 wt.% of nano-TiO2 can  be dispersed evenly throughout the PSA matrix and the  size of nanoparticles is about 50–60 nm; with the nanoTiO2 mass fraction increased to 3 wt.%, a little aggregation can be observed; when the mass fraction of nanoTiO2 increased to 5 or 7 wt.%, its dispersion in PSA  becomes inhomogeneous because of their large specific  surface and high surface polarity, and the aggregation  size is about 100–300 nm. It is difficult for nano-TiO2  with high mass fractions to distribute uniformly in the  PSA blending system. FTIR analysis of PSA/nano-TiO2 composite fibers   As shown in Figure 2, the position and shape of characteristic peaks of PSA composites blending with nanoTiO2 did not change obviously compared with the pristine PSA. The characteristic peaks of PSA composites  exhibiting at about 3338.99 cm_1  can be attributed to the amide N–H stretching vibration and the peaks are  flattened slightly with the mass fractions of nano-TiO2  increased from 1 to 7 wt.%. It ascribes to the quantum  size effect of nanoparticles (Zhang Mou, 2001). In  conclusion, it shows no significant changes to the  molecular structure and chemical composition of PSA  fibers with the addition of nano-TiO2. XRD analysis of PSA/nano-TiO2 composite fibers  As depicted in Figure 3, the PSA composite fibers have  diffraction peaks at 27.54 °, 36.15 °, 41.35 °, and 54.40 °,  this is because of the blending of nano-TiO2 (Chen,  Liu, Zhang, Zhang, Jin, 2003; Xia Wang, 2002). In addition, all the specimens have diffraction peaks at  about 11.85 ° and 21.25 °. The sharp diffraction peaks  corresponding to 11.85o  indicate that there are crystalline structures in PSA/nano-TiO2 composite fibers  (Yang, 2008). Besides, the sharpness of the diffraction  peaks at about 11.85 ° of composites enhances gradually with the nano-TiO2 mass fractions increased from  1 to 5 wt.%. It suggests that the crystallization in PSA  can be improved with the blending of nano-TiO2,  because it can act as a nucleation agent. Moreover, the  shape of diffraction peaks exhibiting at 21.25 ° of PSA  composites broadens significantly with the increasing  nano-TiO2 mass fractions and it proves that the size of  crystal region becomes smaller (Meng, Hu, Zhu,  2007). The mechanical properties of PSA/nano-TiO2 composite fibers As illustrated in Table 2, the breaking tenacity of PSA  composite fiber with 1 wt.% nano-TiO2 improved  obviously; however, the improving degree of breaking  tenacity begins to decrease with the continuous  increase in mass fractions of nano-TiO2 and the value  of the 7 wt.% sample is lower than the pure PSA. This is because nano-TiO2 is an ideal nano-enhancedmaterial; the blending of it into PSA can improve the  mechanical properties of composites to some extent. Moreover, nano-TiO2 with low mass fractions can be  distributed evenly in PSA matrix and it can form a  good interface with PSA molecular chains. As can be seen in Table 2, the composite fibers have  low elongation at break which is lower than the raw  PSA; simultaneously, the initial modulus of composites  increased significantly, however, the improvement  begins to decrease with the mass fractions of nano-TiO2  increased from 1 to 5 wt.% and the 7 wt.% sample has  the minimum value of the initial modulus. It suggests  that the blending of nano-TiO2 with low mass fractions  can improve the mechanical properties of PSA composite fibers to a certain extent. The thermal stability of PSA/nano-TiO2 composite  fibers TG curves and derivative thermogravimetric analysis  (DTG) curves of PSA/nano-TiO2 composite fibers are  demonstrated in Figures 4 and 5, respectively. The  main parameters of the curves are presented in Table 3. In Figure 4, the thermal decomposition behaviors of  specimens are divided into three regions. The first region is a stage of small mass loss ranging from room temperature to 400 °C. As depicted in  Figure 4, each TG curve has a sharp decrease in the  beginning and then reaches a platform with the temperature heating up to 350 °C. However, the mass loss  of PSA composites blending with nano-TiO2 is always  lower than the pure PSA during this process. As  shown in Table 3, the T10wt of each PSA composite is  high, whereas the mass loss of pure PSA reached 10%  at 170.19 °C. This suggests that it is hard for the PSA  composites to decompose and the thermal stability is  significantly higher than PSA. The second region is a stage of thermal decomposition process ranging from 400 to 600 °C. According  to the analysis of bond energy (Zhang, Cheng, Zhao, 2000), the C–N section of amide in PSA macromolecular chains decomposes at 500–600 °C (Broadbelt, Chu, Klein, 1994a, 1994b) and the mass loss  of PSA at this stage is attributed to the gases released  such as SO2,NH3, and CO2. In addition, as illustrated  in Table 3, the To of PSA composites blending with 1  and 3 wt.% nano-TiO2 can be increased; therefore, its  thermal stability can be improved correspondingly.   As exhibited in Figure 4, the mass loss of specimens accelerates steadily with the increasing temperature and each TG curve presents a rapid  decomposition at about 500 °C. Corresponding to the  rapid decomposition, there is a peak in DTG curve  shown in Figure 5 and the Tmax can be determinedaccording to the value of the maximum peak (Yang,  2008). The third region is a high-temperature phase of  carbon formation ranging from 600 to 700 °C. As  demonstrated in Figure 4, the PSA composites still  show a slight decomposition during this stage;  besides, the mass loss of pure PSA decreases obviously. As illustrated in Table 3, the residual mass of  composites at the terminal temperature is higher than  the pure PSA. Therefore, it is concluded that the thermal stability  of PSA composites blending with nano-TiO2 can be  improved significantly. The ultraviolet resistance As exhibited in Figure 6, the ultraviolet transmittance of specimens ranging from 390 to 400 nm  decreases gradually with the increase in mass fractions of nano-TiO2. This suggests that the nanoTiO2 can improve the ultraviolet resistance of PSA  composites significantly. This is because the refraction index (RI) of nano-TiO2 is extremely high  (2.73) and it has excellent ultraviolet scattering  properties (Liu, Tang, Zhang, Sun, 2007). In  addition, electrons in nano-TiO2 are transited from  the valence band to the conduction band under the  ultraviolet radiation; therefore, the nano-TiO2 has  outstanding ultraviolet absorption properties. Conclusions The PSA composite fibers and membranes with different mass fractions of nano-TiO2 were developed. The experimental results can be summarized as follows: (1) The nano-TiO2 with low mass fractions (1 or 3  wt.%) can be distributed evenly in the PSA  blending system; however, it is difficult for  nano-TiO2 with high mass fractions (5 or 7 wt.  %) to disperse homogeneously throughout the  PSA matrix. (2) The blending of nano-TiO2 showed no obvious  changes to the molecular structure and chemical  composition of PSA composite fibers. (3) The crystallization of PSA composite fibers can  be improved by blending with low mass fractions of nano-TiO2, because it can act as a  nucleation agent. (4) The breaking tenacity and initial modulus of 4 5 ance % (a) (b) (c) PSA composite fibers can be improved obviously by blending with low mass fractions of  nano-TiO2; whereas the elongation at break  of PSA composite was decreased with the  particles mass fractions increased from 1 to 7  wt.%. (5) The thermal stability of PSA composites can be  increased significantly and the nano-TiO2 has  some influences on the To, T10wt, and Tmax of  PSA composites compared with the pure PSA. (6) The blending of nano-TiO2 can improve the  ultraviolet resistance of PSA composites signifi-  cantly and the 7 wt.% specimen had the lowest  UV transmittance.

The impact of Ig G levels on routine clinical biochemistry parameters i

Summary: The minimisation of neonatal mortality is critical for the success of an animal management programme. The period between calving and weaning is the most crucial period in the animal's life. A major management tool that could be used to reduce health problems in calves is feeding with colostrum. Colostrum is rich in energy, protein and vitamins (especially vitamins A, D, E and B12). Most importantly, colostrum is essential for newborns, in that it contains high levels of immunoglobulins, which transfer passive immunity to the calf, and thereby, enable it to fight with infections. The aim of the present study was to determine the correlation between serum Ig G levels and routine biochemical parameters in neonatal Holstein calves given colostrum. For this purpose, serum was extracted from blood samples collected from 79 calves within 24-48 hours of calving. The passive transfer status of the calves was determined by measuring the Ig G content of serum by ELISA. Based on their serum Ig G levels, the calves were divided into 3 groups (insufficient n=13; partial n=14; and normal passive transfer n=52). Serum ALT, AST, GGT, ALP, LDH activities and serum BUN, creatinine, albumin, total protein, total bilirubin, triglyceride, cholesterol, and glucose levels were analysed. A statistically significant increase was determined in the serum GGT activity and total protein and urea levels of calves with normal passive immunity transfer by colostrum, compared to the other passive transfer groups (p0.05). Key words: Colostrum, Passive Transfer, Calf, Clinical Biochemistry Introduction The minimisation of neonat... ...Passive transfer of colostral immunglobulins in calves. J Vet Intern Med 14: 569-577 10. Willard MD, Tvedten H (2004): Small animal clinical diagnosis by laboratory methods. Saunders, MO, USA. 11. Wilson LK, Tyler JW, Besser TE, Parish SM, Gant R (1999): Prediction of Serum IgG1 concentration in beef calves based on age and serum gamma-glutamyl transferase activity. J Vet Intern Med 13:123-125 12. Zanker IA, Hammon MH, Blum WJ (2001): Activities of ÃŽ ³-glutamyltransferase, alkaline phosphatase and aspartate-aminotransferase in colostrum, milk and blood plasma of calves fed first colostrum at 0–2, 6–7,12–13 and 24–25h after birth. J Vet Med 48: 179-185 13. Zarilli A, Micera E, Lacarpia N, Lombardi P, Pero ME, Pelagalli A, Angelo D, Mattia M, Avallone L (2003): Evaluation of goat colostrum quality by determining enzyme activity levels. Livest Prod Sci 83: 317-320

AT&T’s Resources and Capabilities Essay

AT&T is one of the largest telecommunication network provider in the world and they are a market leader in United States. Besides the traditional forms of communication like local and distance telephone services through mobile lines or landlines, AT&T’s primary business is to provide a diversified of telecommunication services to American customers and their services includes: Wi-Fi, high speed internet, internet TV, fiber optics, satellites, voice and cloud services with a whole suite of IP-based business communication services. They were established back in 1876 when Alex Graham Bell first invented telephone. Together with the group of AT&T subsidiaries, they have over 105 million subscribers in 225 countries and close to 250,000 employees worldwide (AT&T, 2014). According to the (Plunket Research, 2013), the market value worldwide for telecommunication industry in 2013 was USD 5 trillion and the market value for United States alone was USD 1.2 trillion. Technology has been an integral part of our daily life; and it is widely used in all business organizations. 91% of adults in United States owned a cell phone (Pew Research, 2013) and the telecommunication industry may seems to be an attractive industry with the increase demand of such product and services. However, due to the rapidly technological evolution, this is a highly competitive market to sustain competiveness in the market. For example, AT&T’s business evolves around technologies, there is shift of demand in the consumer market; consumers have switch to use instant messaging services like ‘whatapps’ instead of talking over the phone or short messaging services. AT&T must be able to implement alternate strategies to meet customers’ need before competitors. Though there are four major players in the telecommunication industry, AT&T’s main competitor is Verizon; they have similar financial strength and market share while Sprint and T-mobile hold a very small percentage of the market share. When firm resources in an industry are homogenous, competitive advantages cannot exist (Bain, 1956). To continue as the market leader, AT&T needs to have sustainable competitive advantages against competitors. According to Barney (1991), a firm is said to have a competitive advantage when it is implementing a value creating strategy not simultaneously being implemented by any current or potential competitors. And to sustainable competitive advantages firms have to analyze their internal environment and implement  strategies that will exploit their strengths by exploring the external opportunities while neutralizing external threats and avoid internal weakness. Porter (2005) reinstates that firms will attain competitive advantage by developing a strategy that enable them to have a unique marketing position. Kanter (1999) also argue that to sustain competitiveness in the market, firm must innovate in an accelerating rate. Resources and Capabilities Leading AT&T the Market Leader The resource-based view (RBV) strategy analyzes a firm’s internal resources that may potentially be the key resources that can have a competitive advantage. And in order to sustain a competitive advantage, a firm must have unique resources (Barney, 2004). RBV strategy is used to evaluate the internal capabilities on an organization – resources and competences (Barney, 2001). Resources are productive assets owned by the firm; capabilities are what the firm can do (Grant and Jordon, 2012). By applying Barney’s (1991) VRIN framework, we can determine whether the internal resources will contribute to the firm’s strategic capability. They four key attributes of the VRIN framework are: (1) Valuable; exploits competitive opportunities (2) Rare; they must be rare in the competitive environment (3) In-imitable; competitors cannot duplicate the sources (4) Non-substitutable; must not be easily replaceable by alternate products. The key resources AT&T possesses are t he strong financial resources, extensive network infrastructure, research and development facilities, human resources, unique culture, brand image and intellectual properties. Resources are then classified into tangible assets or intangible assets and they must be heterogeneous and immobile to have sustainable competitive advantages. For AT&T to achieve strategic capability, we need to evaluate AT&T internal resources and their capability to perform well with those resources. Just resources alone or capability alone will not lead to strategic capability. Over the decades, AT&T has built different network platform worldwide to support a range of wireless voice and data capabilities. They have the widest network coverage, with more than 18,000 WiFi hotspots in 42 countries. In the United States, AT&T’s customers can access to free WiFi services at many popular hangout places like Starbucks, Borders and McDonalds. AT&T is also financially strong to invest of their network  infrastructure. They have invested billions of dollars to install fiber optic cable nationwide to provide customer a much faster and stable network connection. Lieberman and Montgo nmery’s (1998) first-mover theory state that firm may have competitive advantages through new innovations. AT&T was the first to introduce 4G networks in the nation and they are the first and only company who has the resources and capability to restore the network issue in the event of natural disaster. They have built their reputation and brand in the industry over the years and are known as a technology leader with new innovations. Being the first-mover, AT&T has built customers’ confidence by being perceived as the industry leader who can deliver additional values to consumers thus reduce rivalry competition. For example, AT&T was certified by Department of Homeland Security for their Network Disaster Recovery program and US Navy awarded them a 10.4 million contract for the cloud-based voice-over IP recently. Financial and network infrastructure are key tangible assets to AT&T, they are extremely valuable to AT&T as these primary resources integrating with their intangible assets to achieve competitive advantage. Physical resources as such may confer little advantage to company for long term. For example, rival like Verizon, who has the similar financial capabilities may soon acquire similar assets. Verizon has already starting building the 4G networks. Acquisitions and me rgers are often strategies in big firm. Strong financial resources give AT&T the capability to acquire other companies to strengthen their portfolio by leveraging on external capabilities. AT&T has announced to acquire DirecTV, the biggest cable television provider to strengthen their portfolio. Though AT&T provides cable television services, they have less than 6 million subscriber in their ‘U-Verse’ bundle package, which include Internet, landlines and cable TV. The merger of DirecTV increase AT&T’s cable television subscriber four time more than their U-Verse and an additional 18 million cable television subscriber in South America (Forbes, 2014) by leveraging on the DirecTV’s existing network infrastructure and customer data based. There are high risks in every merger, many firms failed because company are unable to integrate. I believed that AT&T will successfully integrate these businesses together and will be able to deliver additional value to the customer by providing an integrated solution and extend to more subscribers. Unlike tangible assets, intangible assets like  human resource, branding, intellectual properties, research and developments do not have a financial value and often the intangible assets are undervalued and yet contribu te much more than the tangible assets. AT&T is the most valuable brand in Texas, with a value of 45 billion (Jean, 2014). Through various strategies, they have built a great reputation and brand recognition in the United States over the century. AT&T has the exclusivity distribution of Iphone when Apple first launched them in the market. AT&T has the upper hand in terms of business negotiation and bargaining power of suppliers are low due to the AT&T’s extensive customer base and their brand. Porter (2005) argues that differentiation strategies give the firm competitive advantages against rivals. Being unique and different will also lead to higher profitability by demanding higher price. AT&T differentiates them from rivalry by highly focusing on research, development and customer-centric approach. AT&T has invested heavily in their research and development lab and they have 1300 of the world’s best scientist and engineers. AT&T’s researcher has contributed to the industry with many new inventions since 1901 and they made major technological inventions like communication satellite and solar cell that changes the way technologies work. According to Barney (1999) ‘A firm obtains valuable and rare resources because of its unique path through history, it will be able to exploit these resources in implementing value-creating strategies that cannot be duplicate by others’ and ‘A firm with scientists who are uniquely positioned to create or explo it a significant science breakthrough may obtain an imperfectly imitable resource from the history-dependent nature of these scientist’s individual human capital’. Since AT&T is a network company, research and development will be one of the most valuable resources to the firm. Besides new innovations, understanding customers’ need is equally important. Some other key development focus includes increase process automation and consolidation, improve and enhance customer experience. Ability to deliver new technology and offer alternate products and services that better suit the customer needs is the key strategy to stay ahead of competitors. AT&T is rated as the company with the best customer service experience in the industry and AT&T’s customers are the first in the industry to have e-commerce services; they are able to view their bills online and also have  added features like bill sorting by categories, request service updates and many more. Intangible assets like intellectual property, trademarks, copyrights and patents do not have an asset value, but they extremely valuable, rare, in-imitable and non-substitutable. Having heavily invested in research and development, these patents give AT&T the exclusive right to protect their innovation s. AT&T has more than 5,000 registered patents and trademarks; they have 3 patents registered averagely per day. Grant (2005) describes human resource as the productive services offered to the firms by human being through their skills, knowledge, reasoning and decision-making abilities. Besides the scientist and engineers in the AT&T Lab, AT&T has employees from a diversify background that has different potential to contribute to the organization in different business function. Continue training and education will ensure that employees will have the essential knowledge, and the capability to perform their jobs. There are a variety of training programs specially designed for the employees of all level and functions. For example, AT&T University provides leadership training to managers at different level, skills development program design from retail sales to engineers. In 2012, AT&T spent 250 million dollars for employees’ training and development and 28 million for tuition reimbursement to increase the employees’ knowledge and skills, which can in return transform into the human resource capabilities. It is very difficult to find a right candidate for the right position and it is even harder to retain talent in an organization. AT&T has one of the best compensation packages to retain talent, to increase employees’ loyalty and decrease employee turnover rate. Barney (2005) recognized that a firm’s culture is one of the most valuable resources. Culture is the work routines and how organization operates; every organization has their own mission, vision, strategies, values, beliefs and behavior. AT&T has a unique culture, they are highly focus in technology, leadership innovation, customer-centric focus, possess high integrity and believe in collaborative teamwork. Embedded capabilities are very likely part of the organization culture and AT&T’s unique culture contributes to the strategic capabilities on the firm. Both human resource and company culture are valuable resources, rare, in-imitable, and non-substitutable. Conclusion A&T is a differentiation leadership, who has superior customer service with the most reliable and fastest services; customers are willing to pay a premium price for the best provider. Their core competencies are: ability to scale the business, creation of new innovations ahead of competitors, integration of network components, integration of software components and network integration. AT&T has sustainable competitive advantages in the telecommunication industry because they possess inimitable strategic capabilities through complexity of internal and external linkage, with their achievements and past experience in the telecommunication industry, they are able to innovate and stay ahead of competitors. The organization has accumulated knowledge through both formal system and shared experience of people and they are able to integrate into organization capabilities. Due to the complexity of the resources, another firm will able to achieve sustainable competitive advantages with the same kind of resources. For example, Continental Lite tried to imitate Southwest’s budget airline, they failed and suffered heavy losses. Similar, even if Verizon have some of AT&T’s employees like the engineers, senior management, and including the same network infrastructure, Verizon will not have able to achieve competitive advantages as AT&T because they do not know the linkage of all the core competencies which will lead to failure. References AT&T (2014) Investors Relations. Available from: http://www.att.com/gen/investor-relations?pid=5711%5B [Accessed 8 June 2014] Bain, J. 1956. Barriers to New Competition. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. Barney, J.B. (1991). Firm’s resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management, 17: 99-120 Barney, J.B. (2001)‘Resource-based theories of competitive advantage: A ten-year retrospective on the resource-based view’ Journal of Management December 2001 27: 643-650, Bloomberg Businessweek (2014), AT&T Inc (T: New York). Available from: http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/financials/financials.asp?ticker=T [Accessed 21 June 2014] ‘AT&T-DirectTV Merger Shows Telecom And Television Are Now The Same Business’ 2014, Forbes.Com, p. 1, Business Source Premier, EBSCO host, viewed 3 June 2014. Jean, S. (2014) Dallas News. Ranking: AT&T is the most valuable bank in Texas. Available from http://bizbeatblog.dallasnews.com/2014/03/ranking-att-is-the-most-valuable-brand-in-texas.html/ [Accessed 25 June 2014] Grant, R. and Jordan, J. (2012) Foundation of Strategy. 1st edn. West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons Ltd Grant, R. (2005) Analyzing Resources and Capabilities. Contemporary Strategic Analysis. Volume 5 p.130-185 Kanter, R. M. 1999. From spare change to real change. Harvard Business Review 77 (3): 122–32. Lieberman M.B. Montgomery D.B (1988), â€Å"First-Mover Advantages†, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 9, 41-58 Market Watch. (2014) AT&T Inc. Available from http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/t/financials/cash-flow [Accessed: 8 June 2014] Porter, M. (M 2005) ‘Michael Porter on Str ategy’, Leadership Excellence, 22, 6, p. 14, Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 23 June 2014. Porter, M. (2008) M. E. Competitive Strategy, Free Press, New York, 1980. Porter, M 2005, ‘Michael Porter on Strategy’, Leadership Excellence, 22, 6, p. 14, Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 23 June 2014. Pew Research. (2013) Cell phone ownership hits 91% of adults [Online] Available from: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/06/06/cell-phone-ownership-hits-91-of-adults/ [Accessed: 10 June 2014] Plunket Research. (2014) Telecommunication Industry Market Reseach [Online] Available from: http://www.plunkettresearch.com/telecommunications-market-research/industry-and-business-data [Accessed: 10 June 2014] The Wall Street Journal (2014), AT&T Enhances Mobile Internet Coverage in Bud Walton Area At The University of Arkansass. Available from: http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20140603-905535.html# [Accessed: 8 June 2014]

Bad Breath, Taming the Beast from Within

Bad Breath, Taming the Beast from Within Free Online Research Papers It is the one of the most horrible situations you could find yourself in, wonderful conversation that is completely destroyed by horrible smelling breath, you’ve been there, engaged in a close proximity conversation suddenly realizing that the individual you are speaking to has horrible smelling gorilla breath. The gaseousness stench of the bad breath destroys any type of concentration that you have, and it takes everything inside of you to try not to vomit on the person or say â€Å"Dang, that is some stinky battery acid bad breath†¦.† continuing from that point is barely possible, most of your energy is used trying not to make a facial expression that communicates â€Å"I smell your bad breath.† The decomposing aroma educes almost seizure like responses. Most people do not tell people with bad breath â€Å"Hey, do you know your breath stinks?† Either, they think the person must know, or they don’t care enough about the person to give them a heads up about their current demon breath. Bad breath is especially nasty for those on the receiving end, but dealing with it correctly by helping each other out by simply asking gently â€Å"Do you realize that your breath is kicking up something furious.† Though, there are barriers in dealing with bad breath they should be dealt with on levels both personally and as a buddy, family member or colleague of a person with the problem. Personal Responsibility Bad breath, what is the first step to taking back what the enemy stole? First off, every able body has the duty to take superior care of their teeth and carry out superior oral sanitation that will help stop bad breath. Others should not have to pay the price for some one else’s lack of personnel care. People that are carriers of foul breath should be able to say â€Å"Hey, I’m all by myself and I smell bad breath, I wonder if its mine?† Then the action should be, eliminating this bad breath like a ferocious fire breathing dragon. If taming the fire breathing dragon of bad breath is not able to be done and the individual has done everything in their power to try, they should contact the closest fire breathing dragon tamer (bad breath specialist). Well, actually a doctor or dentist will suffice. Inform Culprits If you had bad breath wouldn’t you want to know? Most of us would, so that we could correct the decomposing breath stench. So, with that in mind we should tell the person that â€Å"Hey, whatever you had for lunch has your breath smelling horrid. Address the situation, break the bad breath, walk away. Sometimes, certain diseases that a person may have can cause bad breath, and medications can also play a big factor in bad breath. Telling someone can identify if they actually know that their breath stinks and help them avoid a reputation of a bad breath presence. Bringing this up is not an easy task and should not be done rudely. Friends don’t let friends talk with bad breath. Bringing up bad breath can be easy, do it by offering a piece of gum. Make a banner and post at work that says â€Å"Tic-Tacks save lives try one today and breathe easy.† Seriously, talk about the offensive nature of bad breath and then offer them a mint, gum, or a gift certificate to a dentist. This should scream to a person maybe I should deal with my bad breath Direct approaches work like a charm for dealing with bad breath, they avoid staying on the uncomfortable conversation very long and forces the person to either continue living with bad breath after it has been addressed or stand up and do something about their bad breath. This is not the most comfortable of situations but bad breath can and should be dealt with, to save multitudes. Research Papers on Bad Breath, Taming the Beast from WithinThe Spring and AutumnPersonal Experience with Teen Pregnancy19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraUnreasonable Searches and SeizuresMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductCapital PunishmentHonest Iagos Truth through DeceptionThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationArguments for Physician-Assisted Suicide (PAS)The Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug Use

Presentation of teen culture as portrayed in the film A Rebel without a Cause

Presentation of teen culture as portrayed in the film A Rebel without a Cause â€Å"A rebel without a cause† is a film whose theme is based on the American youth who are misunderstood, restless and belong to the middle-class society. The film is based on a book written earlier by Dr Robert Lindners 1944, a factual book titled; â€Å"Rebel without a Cause,† which tells the story of a criminal psychopath in the years after the second world war. Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Presentation of teen culture as portrayed in the film â€Å"A Rebel without a Cause† specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The film is about youth defiance in mid 1950’s from the perspective of the main adolescent male character who is a worried young adult with unreliable parents in a new surrounding. The story symbolizes the rebellious and idealistic protagonist search for a cause, which is honesty and decency in a hypoctrical world. Due to its theme no one would have been better fit for the main a ctor’s position like James Dean did shortly before his death which occurred a month before the feature opened at the Astor Theatre (Lindners, p.89). The film is divided into five main acts: conflict between parents and children leading to lack of a father factor, interaction between teenagers, and climatic challenge of the dare devil, peaceful and loving denouement and lastly the final tragedy of the three young people. The three main characters Jim, Judy and Plato represent the teenagers of the 1950’s .The film brings out their teen culture which is not so different with the current modern culture. Jim, the main character, is presented as a rebellious character who is a loner and a troublemaker seen as a drunkard when the film starts. He appears dressed like an adult in dark suit and a tie. He is also seen holding a monkey hence, bringing out his own essential innocence, sensitivity, and immaturity. He is arrested for drunkenness and ends up in jail where he meets new friends. He is disappointed by his parents who are ever arguing and are blamed for his alienation. One of the teenagers he meets is Judy, a desperate girl in need of loving, she has problems with her father who she is convinced that he does not love her. She is all dressed up for him with red lipstick but her father disapproves her maturity and smears off the lipsticks from her lips. Judy is like many teenagers living in the current teen culture, who are caught in family love drama. The issue has been portrayed in a current film â€Å"never been kissed†. In a dialogue of Judy and the policeman when she is informed that her father is picking her: Judy: He must hate me.Advertising Looking for essay on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Ray: What? Judy: he hates me. Ray; what makes you think he hates you? There is also sexual malaise at Judy’s home because his father is sexually interested in her but to avoid this he treats her coldly. Judy gives him a peck on the cheek but he retorts â€Å"What’s the matter with you? You are getting too old for that kind of stuff Girls your age dont do things like that. Judy responds: Girls do not love their father? Since when? Since I got to be 16? (Lindners, p. 54). Plato is the other teen character who is brought to the police station by a powerless nanny for shooting puppies. He is hurt and thinks no one can help him since his parents are always away from home and more so, it was his birthday and his parents were not present. The three attend the same school, Dawson’s high school, and on the first day Jim tries to create friendship with the next door neighbor, Judy but she ignores him. Their conversation has words of juvenile attitudes, peer pressure, attraction and repulsion. Jim: Hi. Hi. Wait a minute. (He runs down to her) Hi. I had seen you before. Judy: Well, stop the world.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Presentation of teen culture as portrayed in the film â€Å"A Rebel without a Cause† specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More At school, Judy is a member of a gang that intimidates other students. Jim falls prey of them, they flatten his tyre so as to irritate him and get him to fight, but he walks away. They decide to call him a chicken and he gets irritated too much that he wanted to fight them but they told him that was an invitation to contest at the chicken dare. He decides to engage in the chicken game but first, he consults his father who tells him not to fight but Jim asks him; â€Å"What can you do when you have to be a man? He engages in the contest and wins but the group’s leader, Buzz, dies in the game (Lindners, p. 80). Plato looks at Jim as a potential hero figure and they later become friends in class but Plato is actually sexually interested in Jim, who is seen to understand the melancholy of ad olescence. Plato touches Jim on the shoulder suggestively after the chicken competition. Jim offers to give him a ride home, but in the car Plato asks Jim Hey, you want to come home with me? I mean, theres nobody home at my house, and heck, Im not tired. Are you? (Lindners, p.48). Jim is attracted to Judy, while Plato tries to discourage him because he feels Judy will threaten their relationship. The gang is annoyed with Jim because they think he rattled them to the police not because of Buzz’s death, but for stealing the cars. The three decide to hide from the gang in an abandoned house and started playing games. While the other teenagers are idling in a mansion, Plato is deserted and emotionally unbalanced, feeling betrayed by his parent. â€Å"He took a gun from his mother’s room and starts firing. He hides in the planetarium, and Jim enters to get him and tries to talk to him but he gets scared and runs away. The police see him with the gun and shoot him.† Jim is agonized by the meaningless murder and his failure to prevent it; he goes on knees and crawling close to his pal’s body crying loudly.† He finally becomes more adult like due to this experience. He accepts his both parents and his father promises to assume responsibility and face things like a man. In conclusion the film uses the three characters to portray teenagers’ behavior and lifestyle then, although not much has changed in today’s society since teenagers almost behave the same irrespective of the era since they are still faced by the same issues of relationships, family and school.Advertising Looking for essay on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Lindners, Robert. Rebel Without a Cause: The Hypnoanalysis of a Criminal Psychopath. New York, NY: Other press LLC., 2003. Print